Columns:: Multicultural studies pioneer will give Tresp Lecture

since 12/15/98

Columns::March 11, 2002

Civil rights scholar will deliver annual Holmes-Hunter Lecture
New partnership chronicles ‘unsung foot soldiers’
Annual Nunn Forum focuses on commercialization of the academy
$16,000 in prize money awarded at first marketing research competition
National search gets under way for new grad dean
Veterinary Medicine students take part in Spay Day
Looking for the cheese
‘Taste’ of research whetted library director’s appetite for archival work
Health center earns JCAHO accreditation
Retirees
Newsmakers
Forum essay: To understand us, others must learn English. . .
Tenor of the matter

Campus News

Multicultural studies pioneer will give Tresp Lecture

By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu

Ron Takaki, a pioneer in the field of multicultural studies and a leading advocate for more inclusiveness of all ethnic cultures in

Ron Takaki

American society, will speak at the University of Georgia March 13.
Takaki will deliver the annual Lothar Tresp Lecture at 3 p.m. in the Chapel. His talk, titled “Why Multiculturalism Matters in Modern America,” is open free to the public. The lecture is organized by the Honors Program and co-sponsored by the president’s office. A reception will be held in Moore College following the lecture.
The author of several acclaimed books and a frequent commentator on national television, Takaki contends that a major reason for America’s prosperity and success is cultural diversity and the contributions of many ethnic groups, particularly those from Asia. He rejects arguments that diversity threatens “traditional” American culture, and calls on the country to unite and move forward on the strengths of the varied backgrounds of all citizens.
Takaki, whose grandparents were Japanese plantation laborers in Hawaii, is professor of ethnic studies at the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned his doctorate in American history. Previously he was on the UCLA faculty, where he taught the university’s first black history course and helped start centers for African-American, Asian-American, Chicano and Native-American studies.
His book Strangers from a Different Shore was the first comprehensive history of Asian Americans and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Other books include Violence in the Black Imagination, a study of 19th-century black novelists; Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II; and A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America, in which he recounts immigrant histories.
Takaki has appeared on newscasts on ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN to discuss race relations, affirmative action and multiculturalism. He has lectured at the Soviet Academy of Sciences and at universities in Japan and South Africa.
The Tresp Lecture is named for Lothar Tresp, who was associated with UGA’s Honors Program for 34 years and was director of the program from 1967 until his retirement in 1994.

UGA Today supports QuickTime, Flash, RealPlayer and Acrobat Reader (PDF files).
Download information about these plug-ins.
Affiliate icons for UGA Today

COLUMNS ] UGA Today ] Subscribe ] News Bureau ]
Office of Public Affairs Directory ] Photo Services ]
Broadcast, Video & Photography ] Master Calendar]
Columns ] Georgia Magazine ]Visitors Center ]
UGA Home ] Alumni ] Admissions ] UGA Directories ]
Sports ] Weather ] Search UGA sites ]

Columns is produced by the UGA News Service, a unit of UGA Public Affairs.
Beth Roberts: Columns editor, Juliett Dinkins: Columns managing editor,
Janet Beckley: Columns art director. Peter Frey: Columns photo editor

Questions or comments should be directed to columns@uga.edu